Safe
by A-Swedish-Tent
Summary: In his entire life he has only ever wanted to feel safe. A McDanno fanfic, Steve/Danno! One-Shot


_Safe._

That's what he wanted to feel. Surrounded by a comfortable heat which embraced him wholly, fully. A person which would understand him, that realized who he was, what he was. That wanted him in return, just the way he was. Not just his body, but his very soul.

In his life there had always been danger or awareness that needed him to be on alert.

First it was his younger siblings that needed him. He was the oldest and therefor they were his responsibility. If his sisters or his brother had a nightmare it was his job to chase them away. If anyone, and he meant anyone, bullied or messed with his family at school or anywhere else he would pummel them to the ground, and if said bullies where the same which called him short, or maybe another creative name, well… it was just a big bonus which no one ever dared to mention. He was the one which carefully braided his youngest sister's hair, which made sure that his brother actually woke up in the morning to get to school on time and it was he which helped his oldest sister with her English. His parents always appreciated his efforts of being a good older brother and were respected by it. However the burden of being the oldest is that no one noticed when he needed someone.

When he started the police academy he was pretty much harassed about his height, he was always alert of bullies, but as time went by the others started to respect him instead of his wittiness and the fact that he never backed down, from either a test at school or a blown out fight in the hallways. He became a man who the others could rely on when they needed a friend or some help. As time went on he slowly started to realize that he always worked so hard that he hardly had anytime left to do the things he loved on his spare time. His studies and preparations to becoming a cop made sure of that. When night fell he always descended to his bed just to fall asleep the moment he hit the pillow.

In his rookie years he slowly realized what it meant to be a real cop. The endless hours of patrolling, of arresting lightweight thugs and coming as backup for the detectives or other higher ranking officers made him realize that the hours he was going to spend there, as the protection of his city, were going to be endless. This was what he always wanted to be. A job which he could protect his family, his city and his future family. Just as he protected his siblings when they were little (and still did!). He would soon rise in ranks and he could dedicate himself to the work he was meant to do, but before he did that he met, well was hit by, an attractive British woman.

She had been exotic, beautiful and as witty as he was. She had complemented him and all was fun and glorious in the beginning. They lived their lives to the fullest. After a couple of dates they decided to move in together and started living together. She didn't need him to protect her or take care of her. She had been, and still is, fully independent. It had been a change from what he was used to, but it wasn't unwelcome. When they slept at night he always hugged her and held her close, so he could feel her close to him. She also liked to snuggle and they enjoyed their morning time together. After a couple of wonderful times together he decided to ask her to marry him, she accepted with glee and their wedding had been a joyous occasion. After the honeymoon and some well-deserved vacation and after they had returned he was blessed with the most wonderful gift he could've imagined. A baby girl. He finally had the family he always desired. A family to love, to hold, to protect. But he was still unprotected and when his family crumbled he was left falling without a safety net.

When he had arrived in Hawaii he noticed immediately the annoyingly hot weather, the pineapple infest and the obnoxious happy people all over. He had realized that his wife, correction ex-wife, remarried some big hot-shot real-estate agent and now she and his dearest baby girl, she wasn't a baby anymore but still, lived in luxury that he could never match up, but why had that annoying man moved them to Hawaii? He had promised that he would follow his daughter till the ends of the earth and so he did. He had moved half way across the world to spend every other week-end with her. He had found an apartment, a shitty apartment, and gotten installed in the HPD, where everyone just _loved_ him (heavy on the sarcasm!) and this all resulted in his demise. He felt like an outcast, he was an outcast. Almost everyone at the HPD called him _haole_ and pushed him away, no matter how hard he tried to protect the island, no one respected him. His ex-wife continued to harass him about custody agreements, his apartment became more shitty every day and his ex-wife's husband kept buying expensive stuff for his daughter that he will never able to do. In short his life his hell.

And then things got crazy. He met up with a 6'1", tall, dark and absolutely nuts Super-Ninja-SEAL. Firstly the man, no wait the Neanderthal aims a gun at him and steals his case, then he shanghaied him into becoming his partner, then he gets him shot, drags him all across the island, drives him onto a freaking cargo-ship and then have the nerve to call him by the name his daughter has given him! All in one day! After that fateful day he proceed to put him in the middle of different warzones, shoot outs and other dangerous situations, no matter how much he bitch, complain and begs him to call backup, take the team or just to remind him that he got a daughter. But the most annoying thing he does is make him feel for him. The man is emotionally stunned but he can read him like a book. He is hurting inside, he is lonely and it isn't strange. He's already lost both his parents, probably both in cold-blooded murder and his sister isn't able to stay with him. Therefor he keeps their taskforce, their family, their _ohana_ close. He protects them, and isn't that something he can't help to _lo… respect. _They continue like that for days, weeks, months. Silently revolving around each other and keep getting closer and closer.

But then everything snaps. The super-SEAL gets arrested. Their rookie gets discharged, and their last member goes back to HPD. His brother gets into all sorts of trouble. He also gets an opportunity to get his family back, which totally blows up in his face. In the end they fix it all. The Neanderthal gets cleared, as the rookie and they all can get back to being Five-0, but he can't function anymore. Everything that has happened has taken its toll on him. He ends up at his partners place and he breaks. He tells him everything that he has carried during the years. The responsibilities he has taken, the pain he has taken, and his eternal hope that something would ease. At the end his partner looks at him with sorrowful eyes and wraps him slowly in his arms. He whispers reassuring words to him, that everything is fine now, that he will take care of him, that he is not alone, and that he will never leave him. He kisses away his tears and gently presses his lips to his and guides him to his bedroom. There he slowly undresses him, carefully lays him in his bed and lays down beside him after he also has undressed. He wraps him in his strong arms and holds him close. He never stops whispering reassuring words full of love declarations and promises. His heartbeat lulls him silently and he finally feels safe, protected. He feels loved and worthy of being, he feels belonged and it's the only place he ever want to be. He wants to stay like this forever, safe in his lover's arms.

Danny falls asleep in Steve's arms, contented and peacefully as Steve whispers "_I Love You"_


End file.
